Superfamily †MammutoideaHay, 1922 Higher classification Elephantiformes | Phylum Chordata Scientific name Mammutidae Rank Family | |
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Suborder †MammutidaShoshani et al., 1998 Similar Mastodon, Proboscidea, Mammal, Gomphothere, American mastodon | ||
Mammutidae is an extinct family of proboscideans that first appeared during the Miocene epoch, and eventually died out by the start of the Holocene. The family was first described in 1922, classifying fossil specimens of the type genus Mammut (mastodons), and has since been placed in various arrangements of the order. The name 'mastodon' derives from Greek, μαστός "nipple" and ὀδούς "tooth", as with the genus, to indicate a characteristic that distinguishes them from allied families. The genus Zygolophodon has also been assigned to this family. Mammutids ranged very widely, as fossils are found in North America, Africa, and throughout Eurasia.
Discoveries
In August 2008, miners in Romania unearthed the skeleton of a 2.5-million-year-old mastodon, believed to be one of the best preserved in Europe. Ninety percent of the skeleton's bones were intact, with damage to the skull and tusks. In 2009, a family in Portland, Michigan, unearthed mastodon bones while excavating a new pond on their property. It is one of around 250 mastodons found in Michigan over the past century.
The first excavation to discover mastodon fossils in Elmacık village in Burdur province, Turkey, took place in 2006. As of July 2009, six mastodon fossils have been discovered in the village.
In August 2011, a skeleton of a mastodon was found near Tomislavgrad in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In November 2011, a mastodon skeleton was unearthed in Daytona Beach, Florida, during construction of a retention pond. The find is being studied by the Daytona Beach Museum of Arts and Sciences.